


World's Still Spinning Round

by DuaeCat



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-06 14:03:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4224489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuaeCat/pseuds/DuaeCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ghost is temporarily grounded on an inhospitable planet and it's Zeb and Sabine's job to go for the supplies. It should be a simple enough job, but when is anything simple for the Ghost crew?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Zeb shaded his eyes, squinting at the horizon in hopes of catching a glimpse of their destination. Nothing but more naked jagged rock stretched in front of him, the same behind when he turned his head to see if the Ghost was still visible.

“How far is it now?” He growled it out, nearly stumbling and having to look back at his feet.

“Still nearly three miles, almost the same as last time you asked.” Sabine didn’t sound annoyed, just resigned.

The Ghost had been badly damaged, the hyperdrive fried, the shields gone, life support barely operational. It would be easier to say what didn’t need repairs than what did. They’d been able to set down on planet, but landing a good distance away from one of the few cities had been the only reason it was a landing at all instead of more of a crash. As it was, the only real option had been to go on foot to see if the city had enough supplies to even get them back off the ground.

No one had really wanted Kanan to go, not after everything. Hera had made an interesting sound when Ezra volunteered, somewhere between a laugh and a growl and he withdrew his suggestion. Ezra and Kanan were to try and get the Phantom up and running in time to pick up the supplies and avoid finding a transport. It wasn’t guaranteed that they’d manage that, and Zeb had agreed to hike the distance. To his pleased surprise Sabine had volunteered too, pointing out that her helmet’s navigation system would come in handy with the terrain.

The terrain was making the hike a great deal more difficult than the initial distance would suggest. Zeb would have been able to jog the miles over flat ground in next to no time, but the ground was rocky and uneven, great jagged rocks poking up and deep gouges into the land. It meant they were forced to climb over or go around and he was grateful Sabine could keep them from getting turned around as they picked their way carefully over a rubble pile. Zeb stepped down and had to catch his balance as the rock under him shifted, turning up scorch marks that were far too familiar.

“What did these poor sods do to deserve this kind of attention anyway?” He stepped around the rock, trying to find better footing.

“This wasn’t the Empire’s fault, not this time at least. Civil war from back during the days of the Republic. Half the planet decided the other half really needed to die, and the other side had the same opinion. There were multiple attempts at outside negotiation, but as long as they were keeping things in their own backyard no one really wanted to waste a lot of time and resources pointing out to them what a terrible idea it was. They didn’t stop until the majority of the planet had been reduced to rubble, and even then it was mostly just because they ran out of weapons.”

“Times like these I’m glad you paid attention in history classes.” Zeb grinned at her, pausing in the shade of a large rock to catch his breath.

Sabine laughed, the sound always sounding strange from her helmet. “When they could afford it, they hired mercenaries. When they couldn’t, they tried anyway. It was common knowledge on Mandalor not to contract with them or you’d end up cheated.”

“Practical, I like that.” Zeb grinned at her before they started on. The brief rest worried him a little, the sun was hot but the air itself was cool. It made walking tolerable, but the rocks didn’t feel like they held much heat. Planets like this could have fairly extreme temperature swings in areas, it would be best to get to the city before sundown.

They saved their breath for the trek, picking their way slowly down a gorge and starting up the other side. Zeb gripped better, more suited to climbing, but his heavier weight kept knocking the more unsteady rocks free. Sabine had to rely more on balance, but she did less slipping and sliding. Zeb was grateful when they came to the top of the gorge again and squinting, he could see the faint smudge that likely signaled habitation on the horizon. They’d lose it as soon as the ground dipped, but as much as he trusted the instruments, it was nice to have visual conformation of their destination.

“We made it another mile.” Sabine spoke before he could ask, and Zeb nodded.

“What you said before about them running out of weapons, think they’ll try to barter for ours?”

“It’s a possibility.” Sabine stared out over the landscape, scanning and trying to map the best route before she moved again, heading to a little to the side of their eventual destination. Zeb followed, trusting her.

Neither of them were prepared when the ground started crumbling under them. Sabine stepped down onto a fairly stable looking rock and it started shifting like thousands had done under them earlier. It didn’t stop, dropping down and out from under her as the rest of the nearby ground started moving. Zeb made a frantic grab, fingers almost closing on her outstretched hand and then she was gone. He scrambled backwards, instinct kicking in to get to more stable ground, slipping and stumbling as the ground under him almost seemed to flow. He lost his balance, panting harshly and scrambling before he realized the rocks weren’t still moving. He picked himself up slowly, looking around.

“Sabine!” The only sound that met his yell was the small rattle of gravel shifting and falling. He checked to make sure his com link was still attached and intact, bringing it up. “Specter Five, come in.” There was nothing and he shook the device a moment “Specter Five!”

This time a crackle of static answered him. “Sp… …ive. He..”

Zeb moved closer to the hole that had opened up in the ground, terrified of bringing down more unstable earth on top of her, but he needed to get closer. “Specter Five, I repeat. Can you hear me?” He gave one of the larger rocks a careful shove, but it seemed firmly wedged in and he clung to it, leaning out and looking down, trying to see through all the dust.

“Hear you.” This time the static wasn’t enough to cover up Sabine’s voice over the com and Zeb breathed a careful sigh of relief. She was alive at least.

“Are you hurt?” He scraped his claws against the rock in annoyance, trying to will the visibility to come back faster and the dust to clear. It stubbornly hovered in the air, unaware of his ire.

“Yes.” The reply was flat, and Zeb pulled the com away to curse before he brought it back to his mouth.

“How bad?”

“I don’t know. My arm’s trapped under a rock and there’s pain when I try to pull free, but it could be something minor.”

Zeb didn’t like the sound of that, he’d worked with her long enough to know if it was something minor she’d probably not have mentioned it at all. “I’ll come to you, quick as I can.”

“Be careful, the last thing we need is both of us trapped.”

“Not a chance.” Zeb hoped he sounded more confident than he felt, Eventually the dust did clear enough to see that he wouldn’t be getting down where she was. The drop was sheer, and he didn’t trust what chunks of stone jutted out from the wall that had formed, they might be stable, they might come loose under his weight. He ended up circling halfway around the large hole before he found a path down that looked reasonably safe. It looked like a hollow space had opened up underground, a trap left over from the war maybe, or just natural weathering. He didn’t know well enough to say, but the cavern had stayed there hidden until the first rock falling set off a chain reaction and the entire ‘roof’ collapsed.

It took him far too long before he spotted a flash of color amid all the grey, hurriedly picking his way over to the crumpled form and crouching to start clearing away the bigger rocks. Sabine had obviously done some of it one handed, but without leverage there wasn’t much she could do.  
  
“About time you got here.” Her voice was strained, even with the helmet on, but he appreciated the attempt at humor.

“Thought I’d stop and have a picnic, you know how it is.” He carefully cleaned dust away from her faceplate and then when she brought her free hand up to push at it he tugged the whole helmet off for her.

Sabine blinked up at him, lips quirked in a small smile. “I figured as much.” Her skin was far too pale, her lips tight with pain and he brushed her hair back away from her eyes without thinking about it, mindful of his claws.

Neither of them wanted to mention the giant slab of rock pinning down her right shoulder, her arm hidden under it. Not just yet. 


	2. Chapter 2

Zeb eased out another rock slowly, tugging it bit by bit out from under Sabine’s shoulder. He tried not to pay attention to the way she paled and tensed when he moved carelessly and jostled her a little too much. Finally he had it out, chucking it away and settling back. They had tried multiple times to contact the ship, but the mineral makeup of the rock disrupted com signals too badly. Unless someone else came out looking for them they were stuck.

“Want to give it another try?”

“Worth a shot.” Sabine steeled herself as Zeb braced himself against the slab, finding his footing and shoving up. They’d tried once before and her arm had refused to budge. Zeb was terrified letting it back down would risk it shifting and crushing her, but they hadn’t had a choice. It had settled back into place without moving further, leaving them to try and dig her out from underneath. This time when the slab slowly lifted up she twisted her body and rolled, her arm slipping free in a scrape of dirt and gravel. She immediately tried to curl up protectively, a small cry slipping past her lips.

Zeb dropped the slab back down and reached for her, stopping at the last moment with his hand held out awkwardly, not wanting to risk grabbing her and making it worse.

“I’m fine! Just… just a moment.” Sabine gritted her teeth, waiting for the flare of agony that started in her chest and flared to her shoulder and down her arm to settle back into the dull ache of before. It seemed to last a small eternity, but slowly it faded to something more tolerable. She didn’t fight it when Zeb took her arm, skimming his hands over it slowly without moving it from where she’d tucked it up close.

“Broken, here and here for sure.” He touched briefly at each point on her lower arm and then by her collarbone.

“Osik.” Sabine muttered to herself, starting to try and sit up to examine it herself with her uninjured arm, then giving up when movement made the pain flair. “I was afraid of that.”

“What are our options?” Zeb settled back, watching her. He hadn’t planned past getting her free, unwilling to think about any plans that involved not being able to accomplish that.

“Nothing good.” Sabine grimaced at that. “We don’t have many supplies. I’d say leave me behind, but you wouldn’t be able to easily use my navigational system and there might be predators out there, especially after dark.”

“Right, not an option.” Zeb hadn’t liked the idea of leaving her behind, and it was a relief to know there were good reasons beyond just his own feelings on the matter.

“Us both staying here isn’t a good option either, it’s not defensible and with our coms useless even after it’s been long enough for everyone else to realize we need rescue they’re not going to be able to find us easily.” Talking and planning helped distract her, focusing on what she needed to do instead of the physical.

“That leaves both of us getting out of this pit.” Zeb eyed the way he’d come down. He knew he’d be able to get back out, but with her injuries he wasn’t sure about Sabine’s chances.

“Right. Once out we can see if we can contact the Ghost if they’re able to run a pickup with the Phantom. If not, town is closer and we complete the mission like we planned.” Sabine tried to sound more optimistic than she felt.

“First we need to do something to secure your arm.”

“With what? We don’t have any supplies.” Sabine took a breath, holding her upper body as still as possible as she pulled herself into a sitting position. It still hurt, but it wasn’t like laying there was an option.

Zeb reached behind him, loosening his bo-rifle and pulling it around to hold. “Got this, think it might work?”

“But Zeb, that…”

“Not as important as getting out of here safely.” He started undoing the wrappings. “Besides, soon as we’re able you can get real medical treatment. Not like I plan on you keeping it forever.”

“Right.” Sabine smiled at that.

Getting her arm splinted and up against her body was a process she’d rather forget. Every time she flinched Zeb flinched and she eventually had to yell at him to stop fussing and just strap it down. He looked grim at that, but did as she ordered, securing the lengths of metal to her arm and tightening the wrappings. Only when she was as taken care of as he could manage did he check over his weapon, making sure nothing else would shake loose before placing it back on his back. It would be useless for firing, but he wasn’t leaving any of it behind.

Sabine took Zeb’s offered hand, getting her feet under her and standing slowly. Her arm and shoulder still hurt with a nearly sickening wrongness, but no worse than they did sitting down.

“How’s that?” Zeb watched her as he bent carefully to get her helmet, stopping himself from grabbing it for her. If they were going to get to the town she’d need to be able to do much more than just that on her own.

“Better.” Sliding her helmet on did more than just bring up the display and help her analyze the path up, it helped hide her expressions.

“Do you need a minute?”

“Nah, let’s get going. Before I lose my nerve.” It was easier to sound confident through the speakers, starting slowly on the route back up and out of the sinkhole.

* * *

 

It took a great deal longer to make their way up the steep slope than she had hoped, but finally the ground leveled out and she stood at the top, panting shallowly. Zeb had needed to steady her more than once when the loose gravel shifted under her feet and she wasn’t able to move to catch herself as well.

“This isn’t going to work.”

“Nah, you’re doing fine. Probably better than I would be. Just have to keep at it and we’ll be there in no time.” Zeb tried hard to sound encouraging.

“I’m slowing you down. It’s going to be dark in a few hours and that’s just going to slow us both down even more.” Sabine stubbornly refused to look for somewhere to sit down. If she sat she might not get back up again for far too long.

“I’ll try calling in again.” Zeb took the com back out, turning it on and hoping this time he’d manage to get a signal. “Specter Four to Ghost.” There was a long moment and he nearly started to put it away before it finally came to life.

“Ghost here. It’s about time you guys got there. What’s the report?” Hera’s voice came though the device, only slightly staticky.

“Ah, we’re not, uh, quite there yet? Ran into a few delays. You wouldn’t happen to have the Phantom fixed by now, would you?”

“We’re still grounded on this end. What kind of delays?”

“Oh you know, delays. Let me know if anything changes, Specter Four out.” Zeb clipped the device back to his belt.

“Hera’s going to have your hide when she finds out what you meant by delays.” Sabine couldn’t help smiling though.

“Wouldn’t do any good to say just yet. Nothing we can do, and don’t need anyone deciding to try and run a rescue like this.”

“And by anyone you mean Ezra. Good point. So what’s the plan now?”

“Well,” Zeb looked over her, thinking. “Could try carrying you if your arm can take it.”

“I thought the whole point of a new plan was so I wouldn’t slow you down.” Sabine eyed over him, not wanting to think about how it would feel if he fell on her.

“I can carry you a whole lot faster than trying to keep an eye on the ground and you at the same time. Worth a shot, eh? Can’t be any heavier than some of the packs I’ve had to haul before.”

“Worth trying.” Sabine looked around before she could find a decent sized outcropping, testing it to see how stable it was before she dragged herself up to the top. “Come here and turn around.”

Maneuvering onto his back took a few tries. The first two efforts she got up, but he had to brace her legs and that wouldn’t work when he might need his arms free for balance. Every time she had to slide back down to the ground with a soft jolt she had to stop for a minute and wait for the pain to ebb enough to try again. Finally she managed to get her legs braced, using his belt to help keep her in place.

“I think I got it this time.”

“Good. Feels fine on my end.” Zeb took a few careful steps to make sure she wasn’t going to slip loose. “Which way?”

“Just keep going, I’ll tell you if we start getting off track.”Sabine was relieved to see she could look over his shoulder without having to strain.

* * *

 

They finally made it to the outskirts of the city around dusk, the rough terrain finally smoothing out into paths and then real roads as they encountered the first houses. Sabine had ridden in silence for a while, once she no longer needed to offer direction, but she spoke up when they were inside the city proper.

“We should head straight for somewhere to rent a transport, hope they aren’t closed for the day already.”

“What? Are you out of your mind? We’re getting your arm seen to before we worry about the ship.”

“We know we should have enough to get the parts we need and the transport, but we might not if we have to take care of me first. And it doesn’t make sense for everyone to be grounded just because I’m out of commission for a while.” Sabine argued.

“Alright. Makes sense I guess. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

They managed to get the transport and parts cheaper than Sabine had hoped. Zeb had shamelessly taken advantage of the fact he was large and looked fairly violent to growl, glower, and intimidate people into a fair price. All she had to do was stand off to the side looking exhausted and cranky, which wasn’t hard.

“It’s about blasted time something went right.” Zeb grumbled, hauling one of the containers onto the transport.

“Don’t temp fate.” Sabine slowly crouched to turn on the hover for one of the engine pieces.

“I’m not, and oh no you don’t. You’re getting in, strapping yourself in if you can, and letting me deal with all this.” He growled it at her in the same tones that sent the salesmen scurrying and just made her chuckle.

“They hover, I can manage one handed if I have to.” She gave it a little push to demonstrate.

“But you don’t have to, in.”

“Fine, you win.” Sabine was too tired to argue the point, taking his offered hand to step up into the transport and ease back into the seat. She was exhausted enough that it felt like if her arm and shoulder would just stop hurting for a minute she’d fall asleep, even in a strange city.   
  
“Let’s just hope the trip back is a little less exciting than the trip out.” Zeb muttered just loud enough for her to hear and smile at as he made the call in to let everyone else know they had the supplies and were on the way back. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a long time since I updated this, but I have not forgotten about it. With any luck, the next chapter won't take nearly so long.

“You said a delay. I was there, I heard the com call. Delay.” Kanan leaned in, shaking his head disapprovingly. “Delay does not mean landslides and broken bones.”

“If there was anything you guys could have done I’d have told you. The Phantom wasn’t going to get fixed any faster, and you’d have been here worrying or running off after us. Then we’d probably end up with more broken bones, or necks.” Zeb flattened his ears back, guilty and defensive.

“Well we could have… I don’t know, something. We’d at least be better prepared now.” Kanan’s words were echoed by an angry series of beeps from Chopper, most likely agreeing with him.

“Yeah, well, arguing about it’s not going to change anything now.” Zeb growled, then perked up quickly when the door to Hera’s room opened.

Hera had taken Sabine back immediately. With the bottom bunk removed from Sabine’s room she’d taken her to her own to check over her injuries.

“How is she?” Ezra spoke first, tense and unhappy looking.

“Her life’s not in any danger, but there’s at least two badly broken bones and a lot of bruising. She needs real medical attention if she’s going to have full use of her arm when she heals. I put a splint on for now.” Hera carried the bundle of wrappings and metal out to pass them to Zeb, who look them gratefully. “And since she’s going to be fine, our top priority should be to get the Ghost fixed. I’d rather her be seen by someone I trust instead of taking her back to the city for whatever they can manage there.”

“Right, you heard the Captain. Chop, think you can cut the power to the steering system? Ezra you get the new coolant valves in place.” Kanan shared a glance with her and then started herding everyone away from the door before anyone could try and slip by to get a peak of their injured shipmate.

“Zeb, stay behind just a minute?” Hera spoke up before he could start down the hall, waiting until the others weren’t right on top of them.

“What is it? If you want to read me the riot act again…”

Hera held up a hand “If you weren’t as exhausted as she is I’d say you had to do your part and hers fixing the ship. But right now she wanted to talk to you before the painkillers kicked in. Then you can get cleaned up and get some rest.”

“Right. Thanks, Hera.” Zeb stepped past her to open the door, peering inside.

Sabine looked smaller without the armor. There wasn’t any sign of her filthy clothing, and after a moment Zeb realized Hera had probably had to cut through the cloth to get it off her. She was in the bottom bunk, blanket pulled up to preserve modesty but her arm was out and splinted. Between the wrappings the skin was swollen and dark with bruising and Zeb swallowed as he came closer. Even if he knew it probably looked worse than it was, he was still amazed she had been able to do as much as she had. Her eyes were closed and for a moment he worried she’d already fallen asleep, then his foot made a soft sound scuffing the floor and she opened her eyes, looking for him.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself” Zeb tried to make it sound light enough, coming closer. “Didn’t get enough of me before?”

“Wanted to thank you before the painkillers made me too stupid. I know you’re the only reason I’m not still stuck at the bottom of that pit, and I know I wasn’t exactly appreciative.”

“You were fine. No one’s a delight when they’re in that much pain.” He reached out to ruffle her hair gently, getting a smile in return.

“Good, just wanted to make sure we were good.”

“We’re good. Now I’m going to go scrub all the dirt off before Hera realizes exactly how much we both tracked in and finds me a mop. “ He cupped a hand against her cheek, touching lightly before he realized what he was doing and tugged it away.

“Good idea. Goodnight Zeb, and again… thanks.” Her voice was a little more slurred and less focused.

“You’re welcome. Night.”

 

* * *

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be working right now?” Sabine gave up on the data pad she was holding, glancing at the door where Ezra was peering in. Life support was up enough to keep it at a comfortable temperature, but the air circulation itself turned off and on while they worked on it. The small room got stuffy fast when that happened, and having the door open made her feel a little less cut off from everyone. Even if there wasn’t anything wrong with her legs other than a few bruises, there wasn’t much she could do except get it the way.

“I am working. I brought you lunch.” Ezra held up the plate like a prize, stepping inside the room.

“Just what I need, food poisoning.” Her tone was a little flatter than she intended and she could see his face fall. “Sorry, that was supposed to be a joke. Jokes are hard right now.”

“Don’t sweat it.” Ezra carried the plate over, hesitating on where to put in until Sabine put the data pad aside, making room on her lap for the plate.

Hera had found a tank top that was loose enough to go over her splinted arm and it had taken both of them, some swearing, and an extra dose of painkillers that morning, but she was dressed. She was pleasantly surprised by the plate, sandwich pieces cut up to make them easy to eat one handed and neatly sliced fruit.

“This actually looks really good. Who made it?” She picked up one of the sandwich pieces, taking a bite.

“I did. It’s not like it’s that hard.” Ezra grinned, taking a seat nearby.

“Well it’s good, thank you. Where did you learn?”

“Lot of restaurants on Lothal don’t… didn’t care that much how old you were as long as you could scrub dishes and were willing to work for food. I didn’t do it all the time, but later I was on food prep a lot. You pick stuff up.” Ezra propped his chin on his fist, watching her.

“That’s smart.” She was hungrier than she thought for just laying around all day, finishing off everything quickly.

“Anything else you need?” Ezra reached to take the plate from her

“Actually, you can be my hands.” Sabine carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed, ignoring how her bruises protested as she stood up. Even trying to delicately balance between not feeling too much pain and not feeling too stupid she still had trouble focusing long enough to read.

“Aren’t you supposed to be staying in bed?”

“I’m supposed to be resting, and I am. I just want a few things from my room.” Sabine stretched carefully, starting to the door.

“You could just tell me what to get?” Ezra said hopefully, scrambling to follow her.

“I’m not letting you or anyone else rummage in my room. “ Sabine opened up her room, stepping inside

“It wouldn’t be rummaging it would… ok, that’s probably a good point.” Ezra followed her in.

Sabine pointed out the few things she wanted. Mostly music she could listen to and entertainment holos to watch, waiting until he’d gotten them all picked up before starting back to her temporary bed in Hera’s room. She knew why everyone was being protective, but it still frustrated her a little. Especially as even the short time up and walking around had started her shoulder and arm aching again to the point they were starting to drown out the other bumps and bruises.

The short walk back to Hera’s room took far longer than she would have liked, and she didn’t even try to reject Ezra’s helping hand easing back down onto the bed.

“Do you have painkillers around here somewhere?” Ezra asked, carefully stacking the holos within easy reach.

“I look that bad? Yeah, they’re in that bottle on the table.” Sabine hated how they messed with her head, but the lack of pain was a little too tempting. She’d been able to handle it before when there wasn’t any other option, but knowing she could make it stop was too much to try and tough it out.

“You don’t look bad. Ok, you kind of look like, uh, not nearly as… showered as usual? But I don’t mind.” Ezra smiled sheepishly.

“You better not mind.” Sabine carefully got out one of the pills, juggling it and the water glass one handed, determined at least to do this for herself. She managed to get the pill swallowed and savored her small victory.

“I mean I can kind of feel it. Not like I can feel your pain or anything like that, but it feels off?” Ezra said. “And you look angry, but I know you’re not.”

“I’m not angry. At least I’m trying not to be.” Sabine leaned her head back on the pillow, looking up at the underside of the top bunk. “I can’t know for sure how long I’m going to be entirely out of commission, how long it’s going to take me to get back to full strength, and it didn’t even happen doing something important. I lost a fight with a rock. I wasn’t saving any lives, I wasn’t doing anything against the Empire, I just fell. Now I’m going to end up slowing everyone down for who knows how long and for what?”

“You were saving us. You two were the best for the job and yeah you got hurt. It happens. You still finished what you set out to do and because of that the Ghost is going to keep flying and we’re going to keep fighting. And I’m sure if you asked Kanan or Hera they’d say the same thing.” Ezra spoke earnestly, leaning forward in the chair.

Sabine couldn’t help but smile at that. “I believe you.”

“Good, because it’s true.” Ezra smiled back. “So do you think you need anything else before I go back to working on the ship?”

Sabine shook her head slightly. “No, I’m good.”

“Well if you need anything, let me know. It can’t be any worse than working with Chopper.” Ezra stood up, gathering up the dirty dishes to take back.

“I’ll try not to take that as a challenge. Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Ezra waved briefly before ducking out, leaving Sabine alone again.

 

* * *

 

 

Sabine was quickly realizing that one of the frustrating things of being hurt in bed was no one ever told you anything.

How were the repairs going? Fine. When would they be able to take off? Soon. Could she help? No.

Sabine was used to spending a lot of time to herself but between the painkillers putting her in a haze and the limited mobility there wasn’t much to do. She was relieved when the door finally opened and Zeb stepped inside.

“Please tell me you’ve got some good news? Or at least some real news? Are we ready to leave?” Sabine asked hopefully.

“Kinda? The engine’s repaired enough, the hyperdrive’s fine, and we’re ready for liftoff, we’re going to meet up with one of the medical ships. But there’s some bad news.” Zeb hesitated before continuing.  “Forget exactly what Hera said was all out, something with stabilizers, but the way she explained it it’s going to be a rough ride, taking off especially. Until we’re able to make the jump to hyperspace we’re going to get shaken around.”

“So make sure everything’s stowed tight and hang on?” Sabine smiled a little, trying to push down the worry that rose up when she thought too much about what would happen when they arrived. What if the injury was worse than they thought? What if something went wrong? What if…

“The rest of us can hang on, you can’t exactly strap in.” Zeb started around the room, picking the few loose items up and securing them into drawers.

“What am I supposed to do then?” Sabine watched him, feeling helpless.

“The best thing we could come up with is someone holding you. Keep you in place without hurting your arm like straps might.” Zeb said.

Sabine thought it over. If it was going to be a rough trip she didn’t want anyone else to see her in pain, but she couldn’t hold onto anything on her own.

“Are you volunteering?” Sabine asked, not sure what answer she was hoping for.

“Yeah. Kanan’s copiloting and he’s about the only other one who thinks he could hang onto you and the bunk at the same time.” Zeb sat down carefully on the bunk next to her.

“Let’s do this then.” Sabine started hauling herself up carefully. It took a little shifting until they were both crammed into the bunk, Zeb putting his arm across her and pressing firmly to make sure he wasn’t going to squeeze down and hurt her when the ship moved. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how strong Zeb really was, the arm across her was like velvet over durasteel pinning her in place as Zeb braced against the bunk, gripping with his toes as well as his free hand.  

Finally satisfied they were in the best position possible, Zeb let go of the bunk to grab up his com.

“We’re ready.” Zeb spoke into it.

“Got it. Hang on.” Hera’s voice came over it and Zeb grunted his agreement, putting the com back on his hip and then gripping the bunk.

Sabine tensed, waiting, and for several long moments nothing happened. Then the ship lurched and it nearly caught her off guard. The Ghost bucked, jerking away from the ground and then feeling like it briefly stalled before the engines kicked in again making it once more press its way skyward. It was horrible. She had a feeling that Hera never would have attempted a takeoff with damaged sublight engines and no stabilizers if the need wasn’t so pressing. Then the ship made a twisty sideways movement and no matter how well Zeb held on he couldn’t stop her from moving entirely. She lurched with the ship and something twisted in her arm and she nearly blacked out from the pain. She didn’t realize she was crying at first until she wondered where the sound was coming from and realized it was her.

“Shh, I’m sorry. I’ve got you. Won’t be much longer now.” Zeb’s voice cut through the whimpers she couldn’t quite choke down. Zeb kept her held tight, his grip never faltering no matter how the ship bucked in escaping the planet’s gravity. Finally everything steadied as the ship made the jump into hyperspace.

Zeb relaxed his grip on her, but didn’t let go. Sabine tried hard to bring herself under control. She hadn’t hurt so badly since the accident itself and it felt like it would never fade.

“Where’s the painkillers?” Zeb’s voice was right in her ear and she swallowed, trying to get her voice steady again.

“In.. in the… under the bed…” Sabine managed and Zeb carefully eased away enough to open up the compartment under the bed, pulling out the packet of painkillers.

“Can you swallow it like this?” Zeb questioned, the pill looking exceptionally tiny in his hand. Sabine started to nod and decided against it.

“Yeah.” Sabine managed. She swallowed it dry, not even caring at this point. The prospect of the pain finally fading was enough to keep her from even noticing the bitter taste.

Zeb stayed where he was on the bunk, his hand settling on her head and stroking through her hair. “Know your helmet protected your head, so shouldn’t be able to hurt you like this, eh.?”

“Yeah.” Sabine slowly breathed out, between the pills and holding still the pain was starting to ebb. As much as she hated being vulnerable like this she could trust Zeb not to make fun of her for it and having someone so close was very grounding. She could focus on his steady breathing and warm bulk behind her back and the surprisingly gentle touch of his claws combing through his hair.

Slowly the pain vanished entirely, replaced by the heavy stupid feeling she hated. Normally she was willing to balance being in a little pain to avoid the fog, but after that takeoff she found she didn’t care.

“Feels good.” Sabine murmured after a little while, breathing out and tilting her head carefully into the stroking.

Zeb’s hand stilled for a moment, then he kept stroking. “Sounds like the medicine kicked in.”

“Mmhmm. Thanks for that. That was quick thinking.” It was partially the medicine’s fault, making her feel heavy and lazy, but she found herself content to stay exactly where she was for a while. She would have thought being this close to someone else would have been claustrophobic, but instead it just felt safe.

“Should have thought to have you take something before we took off, or held on better.” Zeb grumbled.

Sabine lightly smacked at him with her good arm. “I didn’t think of it either, and I don’t think anything would have kept me from moving a little in all of that. You did a whole lot better than I expected.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t get mad and yell at me for it, might make you feel better.” Zeb offered.

Sabine chuckled tiredly. “Maybe if my arm wasn’t feeling better. Besides, if I wanted revenge I could just fall asleep like this.”

“How’s that revenge?” Zeb asked.

“How would you get up?” Sabine smiled to herself.

Zeb started to answer, then paused, and made a soft amused sound. “Alright. You win. Going to let me up?”

“Eventually.” Sabine closed her eyes, ignoring the way Zeb sputtered a little.

 

* * *

 

“No hoverchairs.” Sabine reminded Hera one more time. “When we get to the medship I can walk in on my own.” She shifted a little in her seat in the cockpit. Her shoulder ached no matter how she sat or laid, but she couldn’t quite give up hope that one position would provide a little more relief than another.

“Got it. “ Hera reassured her.

“And they talk to me, not to you or Kanan or anyone else. I hate when medical personnel talk over the injured person like they can’t answer. If I’m awake, I’m making my own medical decisions.”

“You’re in charge. And if something does come up unexpectedly if we’re able to wake you up and ask you we will, but it should go fine.” Hera turned to look her over. “You’ve been tense ever since we made arrangements to meet up with the _Nightingale_.”

“I don’t…” Sabine hesitated, staring out the viewport at hyperspace. “I don’t like being helpless. They’re going to put me under and I won’t be able to do anything. I have to just trust that everything’s going to go according to plan. And we all know how often things go according to plan.”

“Sabine,” Hera kept her voice gentle. “This isn’t infiltrating an enemy ship or raiding a supply depot, there shouldn’t be those kind of plan change. You’ll only be out for a little while and yes, you’ll have to trust us. But whatever happens, you’re our first priority.”

Sabine let out a slow breath. “Thanks.”

“You’re still going to worry, I know that. But I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if I thought there was any better solution. So trust us, trust me, you’re going to be fine.” Hera turned back as they came out of hyperspace, the medical ship looming in the distance.

“I hope so.” Sabine watched as they came closer, preparing to dock. “And Hera…”

“I know. Ready to walk to the medical bay?”

“Ready.”

 

* * *

 

Sabine scrunched up her nose, weakly reaching up. Air was blowing directly on her face and it felt like something was pressed against it. Her fingers got so far as to touch something slick and hard before they were caught in someone else’s hand.

“You need to leave that, least until you’re fully awake.” The voice was a deep rumble that sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place a face to it yet.

“M’awake.” Sabine replied, more out of habit than any conscious direction behind the words.

“Heard that one a few times before. Where are you?”

“Hmm?” Sabine slowly blinked her eyes open, squinting at the bright lights overhead.

“Know where you’re at yet?” The voice was familiar, enough that she could recognize the worry behind the words and after a moment memory started coming back.

“The _Nightingale_ , one of the medical ships.” She’d privately thought the name was a good sign, and she squeezed the slightly fuzzy hand holding her own before turning to look at Zeb. “How did it go?”

“You’ll need some recovery time, but everything’s put back where it should be and everything should heal up good as new.”

“That’s great news. Can I get the mask off now?” She smiled at him through the clear material, more relieved than she let on. She’d worried if the damage had been too extensive it might have been easier to replace whole portions of the shoulder with cybernetic pieces. That would have meant longer recovery and taken a lot more resources from the fleet.

Zeb squeezed her hand gently then let it go so he could turn off the oxygen and remove the mask.

“Thanks. Have you been here the whole time?” Sabine scrunched her nose, then rubbed carefully over her face, trying to rub away the feeling. She wouldn’t have thought it was that different from her painting respirators, but they didn’t blow air at her. For some reason that made all the difference, the pressure was enough to make her want to turn away.

“Most of it.” Zeb reached out, brushing some of her hair out of her face with a gentle touch. “As soon as you want to see everyone else they’ve been staying nearby. I didn’t think you’d want to wake up to everyone staring down at you, but didn’t think you’d like waking up alone either.”

“You thought right. I’d much rather wake up to just you here.” She smiled up at him, and was surprised to see him look away, his ears flattening back a little.

“That’s, ah, that’s good. Want me to let anyone else know you’re awake?” Zeb said, starting to stand up  
  
“Uh, sure? Yeah. They probably want to know.” Sabine watched him go, unsure what she’d said to make him retreat so suddenly and wishing she could take it back. For the moment though she was distracted by the excited mechanical screeching as the moment the door opened Chopper raced in to scold her for taking so long. The rest of the crew was right behind him and for the moment she was too distracted to really think on it, but she had no intention of forgetting about it until she figured out what was going on.


	4. Chapter 4

Sabine stepped into her room, breathing in the familiar faint scents of dry paint and solvents. Getting up to her bunk might be a little tricky, her arm was still in a sling for the next few days and she was supposed to take it easy while her body finished healing. It was still a relief to no longer worry about the bone deep ache that flared into real pain at almost nothing. Instead her shoulder twinged now and then if she moved wrong, but otherwise she felt good.

All in all things could have gone a lot worse. Sabine started making a mental list of what she’d be able to do without putting too much strain on her healing arm, and what would need to wait when there was a tentative sounding knock at the door.

“What is it?” Sabine wagered a guess that it was someone or other checking up on her, as she was fairly sure not even Ezra would dare ask her to help out with something so soon after being released from the med bay.

Her suspicions were proven to be correct when Zeb opened the door, peering in and looking very much like a tooka caught starting in somewhere it knew it shouldn’t be.

“Wanted to see if you needed a hand with anything?” Zeb asked, and Sabine couldn’t help smiling a little. Zeb had been absent when she’d been able to return to the Ghost, but she’d hoped it was just to avoid attracting attention with a mini parade through the hallways when it really hadn’t been necessary.

“Pun intended?” Sabine wiggled her fingers where they stuck out of the sling and quickly revised her list to include things that she could do with some help as long as said help was willing to follow instructions. “Actually, I could, the orange in my hair’s starting to fade and instead of just touching it up I was planning to go for something new. Think you’re up for the job?”

Zeb looked startled at that. “I think I could manage, so long as you tell me what to do.”

“I can, thankfully I don’t think any new hair needs to be bleached, just the old color removed and new added on.” Sabine went to one of her storage drawers, pulling out the things she needed and then pausing. “I don’t think my gloves are going to fit you. It shouldn’t be permanent on unbleached fur, but it’ll still stain.”

“I’ve got some waterproof ones where it doesn’t matter what color they end up.” Zeb reached out to take the bottles from her as she handed them over, he seemed to be relaxing now that he had a task to do.

“Good.” Sabine got out the final comb and started out towards the ‘fresher. If anyone else had asked she’d have found a different task, but she trusted Zeb. He wasn’t likely to decide he knew a better way to dye hair than she did or argue with her, or be called off to do something more important. And the idea of being crammed into close quarters with him wasn’t nearly as claustrophobic as it probably should be. She didn’t have to wait long for Zeb to grab gloves for himself and join her.

“That one’s the color remover, it chemically reacts with the dye I use to remove the color without damaging the hair. You don’t have to worry about getting it on the rest of my hair, but try not to waste too much?” Sabine indicated the first bottle.

“Right, just on the orange tips.” Zeb twisted the cap to open the bottle. “Guessing if it’s safe for undyed hair, I don’t have to worry about gloves for this step?”

“That’s right.” Sabine held still as he started lifting her hair away from her head lock by lock, squeezing the gel out and working it into the dyed strands. She had worried it might be boring just having to hold still and let someone else work on her hair, but it was oddly relaxing. It seemed like almost no time at all before the last bits of orange had been soaked and were already starting to lighten.

“What now?” Zeb asked, closing the bottle and reaching to wash his hands in the sink.

“We give it a couple minutes to finish and then rinse it out well. If any of it gets left then the new dye won’t take.” Sabine had found that out the hard way.

Zeb nodded, not seeming to be that impatient. “Once all the orange finishes fading, yeah?” He got the shampoo out and ready, helping support her as she bent forward under the faucet. Sabine was glad once again she hadn’t considered doing this on her own, her collarbone ached when she tried to support too much of her weight bracing against the sink and it was easier to let Zeb support her with one hand while he scrubbed through her hair. It never failed to impress her how delicate he could be with his claws. She’d seen him sink them right into anything softer than duracrete, but they never even got near her scalp.

“That should be all of it.” Zeb tugged her back upright, and then cursed when her soaked hair continued shedding water to drip down all over her back and shoulders.

Sabine bit back a laugh, not wanting to hurt his pride. “Yeah, it’s better to towel it off before I stand back up, but it’s fine. I’ll change after this.”

“Just hold still.” Zeb spoke gruffly, dropping the towel over her head and ruffling the water out with surprising gentleness.

Sabine didn’t bother to make a clever comeback, not with the towel there to muffle it while he dried her hair to just damp before tugging it off and getting the dye. “Just do the same as you did with the color remover, it’ll only take in the bleached parts.”

“Black this time? Seems less colorful than you usually like.” Zeb brushed a lock of hair out, remembering just in time to put on gloves before he started squeezing the dye out and working it through the pale strands.

“The color changes as it develops, you’ll have to wait until it’s finished to see.” Sabine held still, closing his eyes as he worked around her face, even if Zeb wasn’t being sloppy with the thick liquid she still didn’t want to risk getting any in her eyes.

“I’m doing this for you and I don’t even get to know the color?” Zeb sounded mock-hurt and Sabine grinned.

“Uh huh. You’ll get to be the first to see when it’s finished, though.” Sabine pointed out.

“Guess it’ll have to do.” Zeb continued working the liquid through her hair, working it into each tip to make sure none of it was left uncovered. “How long does this need to stay on?”

“About ten minutes to make sure the pigment’s set.” Sabine couldn’t see much of his work in the mirror since it involved the back of her own head, but from the time he’d taken and how through he’d been with the front she was sure he’d done a good job.

“That’s not too bad.” Zeb washed the excess dye off his gloves, capping the bottle and cleaning it up as best he could.

“It’s really not. Usually it’s easier to pass the time though. I’m betting as soon as I figure out how to do things one handed I’ll be out of the sling.” Sabine said.

“How long do you have to wear it anyway?” Zeb asked, and Sabine remembered he hadn’t been there during the quick briefing before she was discharged.

“Not long. The bones are fine now, but there was a little soft tissue strain that needs time and rest. The sling’s more to remind me not to do anything too strenuous with it.” Sabine resisted the urge to poke at the dye on her hair. “How have the repairs to the ship gone?”

Zeb snorted “Good enough, though you missed Hera following the repair crews around like a broody lothbird guarding her nest.”

Sabine bit back a laugh at that “I can picture it well enough.” Hera with sand colored and green marked feathered puffed out, crouched over the Ghost while the repair crew kept a respectful distance. It made Sabine’s fingers twitch to pull out her paints and find a suitable place for a new piece of art. She had to hope the inspiration would last until she was able to do it justice.

Zeb detailed the other repairs that were in progress and Sabine nodded along. It sounded like the Ghost would be fully operational again not too long before she was.

“It’s a good thing we’re useful enough to the Rebellion that they’re willing to put us on the high priority list. If we were trying to get all that done on our own we’d be out of commission for a month, even assuming we had all the parts on hand.” Sabine was decidedly grateful that there were others available to do the work. She’d never outright complain, but tinkering with and improving tech had room for creativity, repairs tended towards the frustrating.

Once the discussion of the ship’s repairs ran its course though the silence stretched. Sabine disliked this part, it wasn’t like working together where it was accepted that you could stay quiet and focused, it seemed like there was a certain amount of small-talk required when you were passing the time with someone else. She wasn’t good at small-talk, finding it frustrating to fake interest in something unless there was another goal in mind. If a mission required the acting it was one thing, but to fake it around friends seemed insulting. But the only topics that came to mind were too prying and personal to blurt out in a ‘fresher.

“I think it’s been ten minutes.” Zeb finally said and Sabine welcomed the break in the silence.

“I think you’re right. Just water this time, no soap, once it’s running mostly clear it’s done.” She leaned over the sink, bracing carefully until he caught her to support her, turning on the water. She closed her eyes, not wanting to get dye water in them as she could feel him directing the water over her hair, warm rivulets of no-doubt nearly black water flowing down the sides of her neck and pouring awkwardly off her chin.

“There, don’t stand up just yet.” Zeb turned off the water, grabbing a towel and scrubbing over her hair.

“How’s it looking?” Sabine had been patient for the whole process, but now that it was nearly finished she was more than ready to see.

“It looks… purple.” Zeb eases her up away from the sink and she looked in the mirror, smiling.

“Don’t go overboard on the compliments now.” Sabine turned her head back and forth, examining what she could see if the new color. The rich color went well with the blue, not as bright a contrast as the orange but it was a nice change.

“It looks nice. I wasn’t expecting it to go from black to purple.” Zeb tried again.

“That’s a little better.” Sabine scruffed the fingers on her good hand through her hair. “It’ll get a little brighter than it’s all the way dry. Thank you for this. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Yeah well, no big deal. Anyone would have done it for you, know how much all this means to you.” Zeb rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

“I didn’t want just anyone though, I asked you. Just take the praise.” Sabine turned so she could punch him lightly on the chest.

“Alright alright, you’re welcome. You’re getting awfully used to giving orders.” Zeb cracked a smile at that and Sabine considered it a win.

“Like you mind. I’m going to go get changed, but I think I can manage that on my own. ” Sabine wiped down the sink, checking for stray drips of dye. Zeb had already cleaned up the bottles and put the other towels away to be cleaned.

“You sure? I can let Hera know if you need a hand.” Zeb looked a little concerned and Sabine reached up to pat his arm this time.

“I’m sure, don’t worry about me. I can handle changing clothes like this.” Sabine reassured him, starting out of the ‘fresher and eager to get on a dry shirt and sling.

“If you don’t want people worrying, maybe don’t go falling into sinkholes next time, eh?” Zeb teased, and Sabine laughed, feeling a great deal more at ease. Zeb had probably just been a little unnerved by the med-bay and hadn’t wanted to admit it. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he’d wanted to avoid her, it would have hurt a great deal more than she wanted to think about. 


	5. Chapter 5

Zeb tugged at the clothing he’d been given, feeling awkward for more reasons than the barely adequate fit. He would have rather been on the team doing the heavy lifting part instead of the subterfuge part, but Kanan and Ezra were more recognizable. He wasn’t exactly sure how Hera had produced fancy clothing in his size so quickly and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know the specifics. He stopped tugging and straightened up as Sabine started into the hall. She was dressed just as nicely, her long sleeved dress had a high collar with a small gap in the front and was fitted down to her waist where it flared out, the skirt part falling to about mid thigh over the loose pants she wore. The fabric looked black at first, but as she got closer it became obvious it was a deep purple that went well with the new color in her hair. The hems were all richly embellished with bright gold embroidery and beads. She had painted her face, dark blue lip paint with a line of purple running from the bow of her upper lip straight down to the bottom of the lower, and a dusting of some sort of shimmery gold pigment around her eyes.

Zeb had felt overdressed just a moment before, and now he felt decidedly scruffy for not bothering to do anything but make sure he was clean before getting dressed. He shoved the feeling down and grinned at her. “Ready?”

“More than ready.” Sabine grinned sharply.

“Are you going to be able to fight at all in that?” Zeb hated to question it, as nice as she looked, but it was a concern. Theoretically they shouldn’t have to fight, but with their luck it was best to be prepared.

“Don’t worry about me.” Sabine pivoted, popping a leg up in a high side kick that stopped just short of tapping his chest, the skirt part of her dress flaring up enough to see the bottom of the concealed holster on her upper thigh. “This style of upper class clothing is designed so you can still defend yourself, and I’m still wearing my bodysuit under it for a little more protection.”

Zeb relaxed, chuckling a little at that. “Should have known.” It made him feel a good bit better, the bodysuit wouldn’t stop a blaster bolt, but it would be damn hard to get a vibroknife through.

Sabine dropped her leg back down, starting up the ladder to the Phantom. Zeb gave her a head start before following.

 

* * *

 

Zeb was content to let Sabine handle the piloting, hanging back behind the chair.

“You remember all of the mission briefing?” Sabine asked as she eased the Phantom back.

“Of course I do. I stand beside you and watch out for trouble while you do all the work.” Zeb chuckled.

“That’s most of it.” The corner of Sabine’s lip quirked up in an amused smirk. “One thing you might not have picked up on, we’re supposed to be from a mining guild offshoot. This is good because there are always new ones popping up and old ones being abandoned and no one’s going to question that they’ve never heard of us before. It’s also a little bad because we’re shiny credits. I’m going to be doing my best to suck up the entire time we’re there, and everyone’s going to be doing their best to look down on us and subtly insult us. If anyone does act friendly they’re probably planning to cheat us. Try not to punch anyone.”

“This just keeps sounding like more and more fun.” Zeb grumbled, but he smiled a little. This was somewhat unusual in that they weren’t dealing with the Empire exactly, it was a high class blackmarket auction. There were rumors that the Empire would have undercover agents there, and they needed to find out what they were after and potentially steal it out from under their noses before it could be transferred after the sale. That was Ezra and Kanan’s job, since Ezra still had far more experience in thievery than they did. It was up to them to let them know what was going on and collect the information on the other people attending the ‘party’. At least from the briefing it was common enough for people to show up just for politics and they wouldn’t be expected to try and bid on anything.

“I’ll take it over hiking across rough terrain for hours. But I’ll agree with you there, I like it when something exploding is a best case scenario, not worst.” Sabine sighed.

“You and me both.” Zeb watched the viewport as they came in close to the station’s hanger. It was a half truth, spending the evening watching Sabine dealing with a fancy dress party was far from the worst mission they’d been on. As odd as it was to see her out of her armor he had to admit she wore it well. If he didn’t know better he’d assume she wore fancy things all the time instead of borrowing it for a costume.

“Here we are. Ready to go pretend to be idiots with too many credits and delusions of grandeur?” Sabine set the Phantom down gently. Zeb backed out of the cockpit to give her room to get up.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Zeb headed out the open back hatch, waiting for Sabine once they were clear of the ship.

Sabine reached up and after a confused pause he remembered to offer her his arm. He tried not to think about how nice it felt to have her sticking so close by his side as they followed a droid in and towards the main party.

 

* * *

 

After close to an hour Zeb was reassessing his opinion on how awful it was going to be. It was just on the edge of too warm in the room, leaving him sweating under the nice clothes he had to wear. The situation was boring, but at the same time he had to stay alert and watch in case of attack. Neither of them wanted to take the risk of eating or drinking anything. While it was unlikely someone would try to poison anyone, drugs were a real possibility.

The only bright spot was that Sabine seemed to be having fun finally being back on active duty. Standing around and talking wasn’t exactly strenuous, but Zeb knew Hera would still have hesitated to assign her a role with the potential need to defend herself had she still been wearing the sling.

Sabine seemed to notice his discomfort, finishing up the conversation she was having and leading them both to one of the ‘balconies’ along the side of the event hall. They were side rooms with large viewing ports, slightly cooler than the main hall and giving the illusion of privacy at least. The viewports could be set up with video recordings from various picturesque planetside locations for those who would prefer to pretend they weren’t aboard a space station. Zeb was just as happy with the current view, it wasn’t like any videos of nature scenes were going to make him forget where he was.

After a moment Zeb realized Sabine was tugging on his arm and he crouched to bring himself to eye level with her. She moved into a hug, pressing her cheek against his in a way that made Zeb freeze before he realized she was using the gesture to speak quietly enough that hopefully any listening devices wouldn’t be able to pick up what they were saying.

“My bet’s on the human male, late 20s early 30s maybe, it’s a regulation haircut he’s trying to disguise with cheap washout dye. What about you?” Sabine murmured and Zeb cupped a hand against her back in a tender gesture that was only mostly playing along with the ruse.

“The Toydarian in green, he looks… bored but alert, like he’s just doing a job. If he was really rich enough to be here, he’d be rich enough to pay someone else to do this for him.” He’d looked about like Zeb felt, but at least if anyone noticed Zeb wasn’t enjoying himself he had the built in excuse that Sabine’s performance was flawless and even he wasn’t entirely sure how much was her actually enjoying playing a part and how much was the part. Either way, bored companion to someone who wanted to be here wasn’t too suspicious, as far as he was concerned.

“Good catch. I was just looking at the humans,” Sabine said, and Zeb tried not to feel too pleased with himself.

“Plenty of people willing to play happy serf for the right paycheck, and if they get caught it just reinforces the idea that nonhumans are lowlifes,” Zeb grumbled quietly.

Sabine gave him a squeeze before starting to pull back. “Depressing but true.”

Zeb hesitated, but reached out, brushing her hair back from her face and tracing the pad of his finger lightly over her eyebrow in an intimate gesture. Sabine smiled, but otherwise didn’t react and he fought down a stab of disappointment.

“We should get back to the party, the auction will be starting soon and I want a good spot.” Sabine spoke in a normal tone for him and anyone listening in.

“Lead the way.” Zeb made a flourishing gesture back into the party before offering her his arm. Sabine giggled, taking his arm and Zeb started quietly counting down the minutes to when they could leave.

 

* * *

 

Sabine had been excited to explain how they would communicate with the ship. They were considering it a given that communications would either be jammed or monitored and the workaround had been pretty clever. Sabine had a small device in one of her rings that sent out a signal well outside the normal communication ranges. It was entirely useless for carrying any information, but she could vary the strength of the signal. The Ghost could monitor the signal and decode the messages that way, theoretically at least. They’d tested it as thoroughly as they could and it had multiple drawbacks, but for this sort of spy op it was a clever solution to their communication barriers.

To an outside observer it probably just looked like Sabine was fidgeting with her jewelry as the auction went on, as she sent out information on the lot numbers, content, and bays the goods were in, as well as if the suspected Imperial agents were showing any interest. It did make Zeb a little nervous that there was no way to tell for certain their messages were getting through, but they really didn’t have any choice.

There were the usual things Zeb expected, weapons and drugs and probably stolen valuables like jewelry. There were plenty of things too that sharply reminded him that plenty of scumbags didn’t need to have Imperial loyalty to be scum. It was one thing if an idiot got hurt or poisoned buying animals or plants prohibited because of the danger involved in their possession, it was another entirely if they were protected for the creature’s own welfare. Even a stopped chronometer was right once a day, and hearing the auctioneer gush about how valuable the specimens were because of their rarity in the wild made his blood boil. Thankfully there were no sentients being bought and sold or Zeb wasn’t entirely sure he’d have been able to stop himself from trying to crack a few heads, mission be dammed.

Sabine made a few low bids, making certain others were far more interested, but keeping up the appearance of someone testing the waters and showing off their newfound wealth. Finally it was over and Zeb didn’t realize how tightly his teeth were clenched until Sabine nudged him, asking if he was ready to go or if he wanted to stay and mingle.

It took effort to pull back on his mission persona and pretend reluctance as he pointed out their work was too important to be away from for too long and they should be getting back. It wasn’t until they were safely back in the Phantom that Zeb felt like he could take a full breath again. Thankfully, once they were away from prying eyes and ears Sabine slumped, looking just as drained as he felt.

“Let’s get out of here,” Zeb grumbled, waiting for Sabine to get the Phantom ready for takeoff.

“Couldn’t agree more, big guy.” Sabine took off as soon as they had clearance, heading straight towards the rendezvous point to meet back up with the Ghost.

It was a much quieter trip back, no more nervous energy to burn off, and Zeb found himself watching Sabine almost unintentionally. As depressing and infuriating as the mission had been, it had been strangely nice to be casually affectionate with her. To have her touching his arms, taking her hand without the gloves in the way, little things like that. And it was just as purposeful and goal oriented as when she needed a boost during combat situations, but it was close enough that it made him wish the real thing was possible. Zeb felt like a coward, indulging in a facsimile of intimacy when there was plausible deniability if she’d called him on it. But as much as he’d have preferred being direct with her, he’d seen her shut down before when people flirted with her. He couldn’t stand the thought of causing her not to trust him, even if he backed off and respected her and eventually earned it again he wasn’t sure he could have handled it. He could control himself, for her sake.

 

* * *

 

Docking the Phantom was a smooth affair, and neither of them were expecting to open the hatch to a cacophony of sounds. Sabine and Zeb exchanged looks and hastily exited the Phantom, hurrying towards the hold where the sounds seemed to be coming from.

The various crates of valuables and weapons Zeb expected. That’s what they were there to steal after all and everyone had been confident that the Rebellion would have no trouble using them or selling them.

The dozen or so cages of loud distressed animals was the unexpected part.

Kanan looked like he had given up, backed up into the corner and trying hard to appear like he wasn’t involved. Ezra was animatedly trying to talk to Hera over the noise when they reached the walkway over the hold, making Ezra pause to look up at them.

“I can explain….”


	6. Chapter 6

Sabine reluctantly coaxed the lizardlike creature off her hand and back into the cage as The Ghost left hyperspace. The auroraphates were the last of the illegal animals to go home, and probably the only ones she’d miss. They were nicknamed living works of art, which sounded downright ridiculous if you looked at them normally. They were fairly unimpressive lizards, stumpy and chubby and boring shades of muddy brown, until you touched them. They sensed the mild bioelectrical impulses of another living creature touching them and responded with a color display, it would radiate out from the contact point in shimmering waves like water ripples on a pond. The females had one color variation, so one of the lizards they’d rescued rippled in blue hues that ranged from bright turquoise through deep indigo. The males had three or four different colors and all their variations and she could have sat and held one for hours just to watch the colors.

As gorgeous as they were and as tempting as it was, the ship was no place for a wild animal. They’d rescued them from the auction with the intent of taking them back where they belonged instead of letting them be bought as pets or worse. It had been aggravating that Ezra had convinced Kanan to let him grab the animals as well as the more valuable cargo, but no one really had the heart to be too angry.

“The little pests all ready to go home?” Zeb’s voice was gruff and Sabine bit back a smile.

“Almost, sure you don’t want to let them get a few more love bites on your hands first?” Sabine teased gently, while they were exceptionally docile for wild animals for some reason the lizards seemed to mistake Zeb’s fingers for something they could eat and he’d been the only one to get bitten. As a result, he was decidedly less fond of the fat little lizards than everyone else.

“Not on your life.” Zeb scowled at the cages.

“Then they’re ready.” Sabine waited for the small bump that signaled a soft landing, and went to carefully lift up the cages. Zeb did the same, keeping his fingers well away from the air holes, as they carried them out.

 

* * *

 

“You have no idea how grateful we are for the return of these,” The head of the conservation outpost spoke excitedly, going from one cage to the next. “They’ll be properly quarantined and evaluated for their suitability to return to the wild. If they’re unable to be released they’ll be added to our captive breeding population.”

“Why would people go through the trouble of poaching these anyway? They’re legal to captive breed with all the right permits. I looked it up,” Sabine asked.

“While you’re right, auroraphates are easy to keep in captivity and there are a few captive breeders, the problem is time. They only start color changing when they reach sexual maturity which can take ten years or longer. Until then there’s no way to know what colors they’ll end up displaying, and while all of them are beautiful to us, sometimes the colors are seen as… unpleasant to look at. Raising and caring for one for ten years in hopes it becomes a desirable color is an expensive and tedious process. Poaching adults from the wild is much faster and easier, no matter the damage it does. Thank you again for returning them, I’m afraid we can’t offer a reward, but…” They started to say, and Sabine shook her head slightly.

“Just knowing they’re going back where they belong is reward enough, thank you.” She shook the researcher’s hand and then started back towards the ship.

“Nice as it is to finally have everything gone, a reward would have been nice.” Zeb grumbled once they were halfway up the ramp.

“What’s with you anyway?” Sabine finally asked. Zeb loved to complain about things, but he’d been especially sour ever since the mission.

“With me? What about you, planning on giving up the life of a rebel and being a lizard famer?” Zeb deflected.

“Maybe. Probably not, but it’s nice to remember there’s still lives outside of this. That there are people out there worrying about lizards instead of the fate of the galaxy. And I have to hope that someday things will be better and I’ll be worrying about the little things.” Sabine shrugged

“You really think we’re going to live to see that?” Zeb sounded like he was trying to go for lighthearted, and it came out darker than he intended and he cleared his throat, pressing the button to raise the ramp.

“I have to,” Sabine said softly. “Now why have you been on edge? Spill it. ” She spoke more firmly.

“Karabast… Just get frustrated sometimes, keep thinking about what happened back at Tarkintown on Lothal. We might do all this only to find that the Empire wants that planet razed to the bedrock and turned into a… giant shipyard or something.” Zeb shook his head. “Feel like I’m doing more good when I’m smashing heads and blowing up ships.”

Sabine had a feeling that wasn’t the entire truth, but she was willing to let it go, reaching up to pat his upper arm. “I know, but we’re done with this part and hopefully our next move will be something a little more direct.” It hadn’t helped that what the Imperial agents were at the auction to bid on turned out to be a load of junk. ‘Jedi Artifacts’ that were junk crystal, various metal tubes full of electronics that bore only a passing resemblance to the lightsaber handles they were trying to mimic, and brown synthwool that Kanan admitted theoretically might have once belonged to a cloak but even if it had it wouldn’t have held any value to anyone but a collector. They’d left the crate of junk for its new Imperial owners and only taken valuables and the animals.

“Hope so.” Zeb pulled away then and started up the ladder, obviously done with the conversation. Sabine watched him go, frowning slightly.

She’d hoped once her arm was healed up Zeb would have stopped acting strangely, but he hadn’t. He would seek her out, but always a little warily, and often he’d cut the visit short. It was almost like he was feeling guilty, or hiding something. She just didn’t know what it could possibly be. Sabine was certain she could get to the bottom of things, she just needed some time to figure out how exactly.

 

* * *

 

“Has Zeb been acting weird lately?” Sabine spoke without taking her eyes off the viewfinder readings. Missions were almost always hurry-up-and-wait, and this one was no different. They were on a standard supply theft, she and Ezra were providing recon and potential cover fire, Zeb and Kanan were on the ground to grab the crates.

“Of course.” Ezra looked like he wasn’t paying attention and Sabine would have been annoyed if she hadn’t worked with him long enough to know that somewhere along the way Ezra had picked up a habit of looking disinterested when he was anything but. “Wait, you mean weirder than usual? Can’t say I’ve noticed anything like that.”

Sabine snorted, and Ezra grinned back.

“You know what I mean, he hasn’t acted kind of standoffish?” Sabine asked. Even if Zeb was the kind of person to confess his secrets to Ezra she didn’t think Ezra would betray them, but sharing a room Ezra might have picked up on something.

“Not that I’ve noticed, but then again he’s Zeb, who knows what’s going through his head half the time. Sometimes I still can’t tell if he’s angry or teasing and you’d think I’d be pretty good at sensing that kind of stuff.” Ezra briefly checked his own binoculars and then rolled from sitting down up to the balls of his feet. “Looks like the show’s getting started.”

“Maybe, then again Kanan’s a Jedi and he couldn’t tell if a loth-cat was annoyed even if it was hissing and spitting and going for his face.” Sabine readied her blasters, watching the scene down below.

“Hey! Ok, well, maybe, but maybe the Force just doesn’t work like that.” Ezra kept the stunner part of his lightsaber hilt steady, but he didn’t fire yet. If everything went according to plan they wouldn’t even be needed.

Sabine recognized one of her explosive charges going off, right as expected on the other side of the Imperial compound. What she didn’t expect was a second explosion, then a third. Neither of the second two matched her usual charges.

“Specter One, what’s going on?” Sabine opened up a com channel.

“I don’t know! We haven’t even done anything yet. We set the timed explosive on one of the warehouses.”

“What were in those warehouses?” Sabine watched the rising smoke with a sinking feeling in her gut.

“I don’t… wait, mining equipment, the inventory I saw said mining equipment So what, drills and things.” Ezra cut in, and Kanan cussed over the link.

“Most of the mining operations I know use explosives.” Kanan spoke, voice tense.

“Get out of there, now, Specter 1, Specter 4. Forget the crates.” Hera’s voice came over the com and from her vantage point Sabine could see Kanan and Zeb start moving, jogging towards where they’d stashed stolen speeder bikes.

“We don’t know for sure there’s explosives, what if…. karabast.” Zeb cut the transmisson as he skidded to a stop to keep from running headlong into a group of stormtroopers.

“We should move too.” Ezra said just to her, and Sabine took a quick look around.

“After they’re clear.” They were on a sturdy building with a thick wall around the edge of the roof and there was enough distance between them and the warehouses that they’d probably be safe. Probably.

Kanan had made it to his bike and was speeding away, but Zeb had been delayed by the stormtroopers. It was too close for Sabine to risk getting a shot off, then Zeb took down the last one and kept going. He just reached his speeder when Ezra suddenly grabbed her by the arm, yanking her down flat on the roof.

Sabine didn’t even have time to protest at the sudden treatment before the force of the blast made the whole building shudder under them. She was glad for the automatic sound-dampening functions in her helmet as she raised her head, shaken.

“Everyone, report.” Hera’s voice was tense over the com and Sabine raised a trembling hand to answer, turning to look at Ezra. He looked dazed but unhurt.

“Specter Five here, I’m fine.”

“Specter One, I made it clear, no injuries.” Kanan’s voice came over the com and Sabine was glad for it.

“What about Four and Six?” Hera asked intently.

“Ezra?” Sabine reached out to shake his shoulder lightly, Ezra looked at her, then rubbed the side of his head.

“My ears are still ringing, if you’re saying anything I can’t tell with your helmet on.” Ezra spoke in that awkward slightly too loud way someone did when they were trying to speak over noise in their own ears.

“Specter Six is with me, he’s fine, just temporarily deafened by the blast.” Sabine spoke into the com, leaning up again to try and scan through the smoke and dust. She hoped it was temporary at least, he didn’t look to be in enough pain to have ruptured an eardrum.

“What about Four?” Hera asked and Sabine tried not to let the cold fearful feeling in the pit of her stomach distract her. You couldn’t let yourself get distracted on a mission.

“I don’t have visual, I saw him arrive at his bike, but…” Sabine trailed off as she finally got a blip on her range finder. “I see him, he’s down, he’s not moving.”

Sabine didn’t even think, grabbing Ezra’s shoulder to get his attention and pointing at the ground. Ezra nodded and swallowed visibly.

“Is someone down? Is it Kanan? I didn’t see.” Ezra asked, confused but getting up to follow her. Sabine gave a quick shake of her head, holding up four fingers and then scanning below her for a clear spot before leaping from the roof, landing softly on the ground below.

Ezra cursed, following after her and landing nearly as lightly as they took off through the once clear street that was now cluttered with rubble.

“Specter Five, take Six and head to the rendezvous point.” Kanan’s voice came over the com.

“Negative, Specter One, we’re on the way to access Four’s condition.” Sabine just focused on that, they’d find Zeb, he was probably just as deafened as Ezra following the blast, maybe worse with his sensitive hearing, but he was tough, he would be fine. They just needed to get to him.

“You don’t have time, they’re going to send troopers in to investigate the blast any minute now.” Kanan argued.

“Then we have a minute, it’s going to be a lot easier to grab him now than try to get him out of lockup and you know it.” Sabine argued, jogging around the corner and nearly tripping over Zeb.

“Then be quick, even harder to rescue three.”

Sabine didn’t bother to reply, dropping down and reaching for Zeb’s neck and pressing in with her fingertips at the side, breath catching in her throat when she didn’t immediately feel a pulse. Then Zeb groaned and shifted and her fingers found the correct pulse point, a little redundant at that point.

Ezra went to get the bike, flipping it back upright where it had been blown over and testing it, starting it up. “Seems to run, come on, doubt we have much time before company arrives.”

“Come on big guy, help us out here,” Sabine spoke out of habit, patting Zeb’s cheek and getting another groan and his eyes half opening. “Just like that, come on.”

Sabine bit her lip and then motioned for Ezra to bring the bike closer. It only took a couple tries to get him to understand and then they were able to get him up on it. Zeb wasn’t much help, he seemed barely conscious, and Sabine hoped they weren’t making any injuries worse by moving him. It wasn’t like they had a lot of options.

Eventually they did get Zeb up and on the bike sandwiched between them, slumped forward against Ezra’s back and shoving him against the handlebars while Sabine held tight around Zeb’s waist and tried to keep him balanced.

“Head to the meeting point?” Ezra asked, a little uncertain, and Sabine freed a hand long enough to give him a thumbs up. Ezra nodded, starting the bike with an unsteady lurch that had her clinging tight to Zeb again.

“Specter Five to Ghost, he’s alive, we’re coming in.”


	7. Chapter 7

Sabine never wanted to make a ride like that again. With Zeb barely conscious between them she was acutely aware of how vulnerable they were to attack. With luck or something like it on their side they made it back to the ship without incident, the Imperials still in disarray following the sudden warehouse explosion. They just kept Zeb on the bike, Kanan helping walk it up onto the ramp.

Sabine felt strangely numb as the ship took off. She helped Kanan get Zeb off the bike and onto the floor of the cargo hold, encouraging him to hold still as he tried to struggle back upright. Kanan tucked blankets around him to try and stave off shock.

“He’s going to be ok, isn’t he?” Ezra asked, standing awkwardly nearby.

Sabine wasn’t sure how to answer, Zeb was tough and it looked like he’d been sheltered from the worst of the force of the blast, but until they could get a proper medical scan there wasn’t any way to tell how badly he’d been hurt. That wasn’t the sort of thing she could get across with gestures, not when neither she nor Ezra were fluent in any nonverbal languages. Instead she just nodded, hoping she wasn’t lying.

 

* * *

  
“I’ve changed my mind, I think I like missions where nothing explodes.” Zeb grumbled quietly.

Sabine let go of some of the tension she had been holding, pressing a cold damp cloth to one of the minor cuts on the side of Zeb’s head. She’d ended up using her lap as a pillow, and while sitting cross legged on the hard metal floor of the hold was far from the most comfortable she’d ever been, Zeb had finally stopped struggling to get up or move. It seemed like he was finally shaking off the confusion, which was a good sign.

“To be fair, the explosions are a lot more fun when they’re on purpose,” Sabine said, not sure if Zeb could hear her yet. Ezra’s hearing had started coming back, much to his relief, and hopefully Zeb’s would be the same.

“Yeah.” Zeb frowned, squinting at her and his ears flicking. “Ears still ringing some, everyone make it out ok?”

Sabine nodded. “You were the only one to take any injuries. How do you feel?” She spoke up a little.

“Head hurts, ears ringing, sore, don’t think I’m dying,” Zeb said the last part cautiously. They both knew too well that sometimes you didn’t feel things until hours after the adrenaline wore off.

“You’re not dying. Going to get you to a medical facility and you’ll be just fine,” Sabine reassured him, feeling more confident in her assessment now. She could have probably moved and gotten a pillow for Zeb instead, with the confusion passed he didn’t seem like he was going to try and get up and potentially hurt himself further if he fell. Instead she just rinsed off the cloth, wringing it out and carefully pressing it back to the side of Zeb’s head. From the way he turned a little into it instead of flinching away it seemed to be a small comfort.

“Hate those places,” Zeb grumbled, but he sounded a lot more like his old self and Sabine smiled in return and let herself hope.

 

* * *

 

Sabine took a seat beside Zeb’s bunk, trying not to wake him. The medical visit had gone as well as they could have hoped, a concussion and fairly extensive bruising but no serious trauma. They’d been able to leave the on-planet medical facility with instructions that were easy enough to follow and painkillers that should work on a Lasat.

Zeb stirred a little, letting out a soft unhappy sound, opening his eyes slightly.

“Sorry if I woke you,” Sabine spoke quietly, not wanting to make his headache any worse now that his hearing was back. The two main symptoms from the concussion seemed to be headache and dizziness when he tried to stand, which was why the lights stayed low and someone stayed close in case he needed anything.

“Wasn’t sleeping, your turn to take a shift?” Zeb asked quietly.

“Yeah, need anything, big guy? Your next painkiller dose is in about an hour.” Sabine almost reached out to pat his shoulder, and then stopped when she realized she wasn’t sure if it was bruised or not. With all his fur, even where he wasn’t covered with cloth all the bruising was hidden. It was easier to keep track of his medication for him until everyone was sure he wasn’t suffering any memory loss and might accidentally skip a dose or forget he’d taken it already and take more.

“No, going to shove some juice at me anyway?” Zeb asked, managing a small smile that took some of the annoyance out of his words.

“Doctors orders. Juice, water, broth, your choice,” Sabine said, trying to sound cheerful. The biggest risk with a lot of bruising, for most species, was as the body healed and broke down the misplaced blood it needed to flush everything out.

“Juice is fine.” Zeb said, then struggled to sit up a little.

Sabine winced internally, but just grabbed another pillow to prop behind him before passing him the juice packet and straw. She remembered well enough the warring desires between not wanting to do anything that hurt, and not wanting to be entirely helpless.

“You don’t have to be here you know.” Zeb drained about half the juice pouch before he spoke. “I know someone does, or at least needs to check in on me to make sure I wasn’t an idiot who fell out of bed, but if you don’t want to you can just say so. Kanan and Ezra can do it. Lothrat owes me after he threw up on me a dozen times when he was concussed.”

“Last time you said it was only a half dozen times.” Sabine smiled, then shook her head. “No, I want to be here.”

“You sure?” Zeb pressed, watching her face. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

“I’m sure,” Sabine said firmly, reaching out to take his hand to squeeze it. That seemed safe enough, he hadn’t had any trouble holding the juice pouch. “It’s not easy to see you hurt, but I’d rather be doing something about it. Why wouldn’t I want to be here?”

“Because of what I told you on the last mission. Mission before last? The blasted auction.” Zeb curled his fingers around hers.

“What you said?” Sabine asked, wracking her brain to try and think of anything out of the ordinary or that might apply to this.

“Yeah.” Zeb freed his hand from hers, reaching up a little shakily to cup against her cheek, brushing his fingertips carefully over her forehead. He watched her, dropping his hand after a long moment.

“I don’t understand. I don’t remember you saying anything,” Sabine huffed quietly, taking his hand again. “Just tell me what it is.”

“I just… wait. How do humans show they romantically like each other?” Zeb asked.

“It depends on the culture. Though generally...” Sabine started to answer before what he was asking fully clicked. “Zeb, are you trying to say you tried telling me you...” Sabine struggled to think of a way to phrase it that didn’t sound either juvenile or crude. “…. you’d be interested in a relationship with me?”

“That’s about the long and short of it, but you don’t need to worry. If you don’t want that I’d never push things. I don’t want to give up our friendship because of this.” Zeb sounded so worried she squeezed his hand without thinking about it.

“I know you’d never push things. I trust you,” Sabine replied, almost automatically. The surety of her answer almost surprised her, but it sounded right. She did trust him. It was easy to forget exactly how strong and fast he was when he’d never done anything that would seriously frighten her. Even when he was angry and snarling he listened and she never worried he’d do anything to hurt her. She trusted him to have her back in battle and she knew he trusted her.

“I’m glad. Don’t ever want to do anything where you wouldn’t trust me,” Zeb said quietly, and Sabine shook her head.

“I know you wouldn’t,” Sabine tried to think, to sort out her own feelings. She’d never really thought about how she felt about him, but she knew she sought out his company more than anyone else. He was easy to be around, and the thought of losing him made something feel very cold and heavy in her chest. She tried to shake the feeling off, it did no good to dwell on those thoughts when the reality was nothing in life was ever guaranteed. “Wait, you’re saying you didn’t know how humans showed affection? I know you’ve seen kissing before.”

Zeb blinked at her. “Karabast, of course I have! Isn’t that sexual? Didn’t think you’d appreciate being propositioned first thing.”

Sabine sputtered, and then thought back to most of the kissing they’d seen in some of the seedier establishments. “It can be sexual, but it’s also normal to kiss even with no intentions of sex for a while.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Zeb grumbled, ears flicked back in what she recognized as embarrassment.

“I guess you weren’t. You fit in so well most of the time, it’s easy to forget you haven’t really seen any of the galaxy outside of… this.” Sabine waved a hand, the Ghost, the crew, the Rebellion, the fighting, all of it.

Zeb snorted. “You make me sound like Ezra when he first arrived.”

“Not exactly, but it’s easy to forget sometimes that there’s more to the universe than our cause,” Sabine pointed out.

“Like bitey lizards?” Zeb smiled.

“Like bitey lizards. And all the rest of life.” Sabine cupped a hand against his cheek and then made up her mind, leaning in and pressing her lips against his. She kept the kiss light and affectionate before easing away, watching his face.

Zeb looked stunned, and she bit back the urge to grin at the expression on his face. It took him several long moments to recover.

“I’d say you didn’t have to do that because you felt sorry for me, but I know you’re not exactly one for pity,” Zeb said cautiously, and Sabine nodded.

“I did it because I wanted to.” Sabine rubbed her fingers over the soft fur on his cheek before where his beard started, and then tried to copy what he’d done before. She stroked her fingertips lightly over his forehead over his eyes, and was rewarded with him sighing shakily and closing his eyes, relaxing visibly at the touch.

“Just in case I’m being dense again, is that a yes?” Zeb asked, when he opened her eyes.

“It is, I’d like to at least give this a shot. If it doesn’t work out we’ll figure something out.” Sabine was fairly sure they’d manage to be mature about things. After all, Zeb had thought she’d rejected him before and she was the only one who’d noticed any change in behavior.

“I’m fine with that.” Zeb looked relieved, then he shifted a little with a wince. “Karabast, I hate to ruin the moment, but I’m going to have to ask you to send Kanan in.”

“What is it?” Sabine immediately tensed, she couldn’t have hurt him somehow?

“Everybody’s been shoving liquids on me and… you’re capable of a lot, Sabine, but don’t think you want to try and haul me to the ‘fresher on your own.” Zeb looked distinctly embarrassed, and Sabine tried hard not to let any amusement show. She wouldn’t have appreciated it when she was trying to navigate things with her shoulder injury.

“I’ll send him in.” She stroked over his cheek one more time and then got up to find Kanan and let him know.

She was halfway hoping for more time after that, but after he returned to his room it was time for more pain medication and Zeb fell asleep as soon as it started kicking in. She waved away Kanan’s offer to stay and watch him for a while, taking her spot on the seat beside the bunk again and getting out a datapad to pass the time.  


 

* * *

 

**Epilogue**

 

Both of them mutually agreed to keep things discreet. They didn’t want to give anyone reason to doubt their professionalism, and frankly Sabine was worried about others sticking their noses and opinions into their relationship.

Surprisingly, Ezra was the first one to realize something was up. In retrospect Sabine shouldn’t have been so harsh in her assessment of his powers of observation, he was a lot more sensitive to others emotions than he pretended to be. Sabine was just lucky that Zeb was the one to get all of the friendly teasing.

Hera caught on after a few weeks, pulling them each aside individually to caution them about letting their feelings interfere with being part of the crew. Sabine reassured her that while everyone said they’d be able to handle it and few were, they’d be careful, and it wasn’t that much more dangerous than any other strong personality clashes that happened. Hera didn’t seem convinced, but Sabine pointed out there wasn’t much else she could do and eventually she warmed to the idea.

Chopper found out from Hera and took delight in trying to interrupt them whenever possible.

Everyone kind of assumed Kanan figured it out at some point and was just being respectful by pretending he didn’t know. Until after a mission with far too many close calls was finally over and Zeb scooped her up and kissed her. (He got much better at it with practice, but still thought it was a little odd.) Kanan made some interesting choking sounds at that, demanded to know how long it had been going on, and Ezra didn’t let him live down his obliviousness for months.

 

* * *

 

Sabine sat at the table, shoulder pressed companionably against Zeb’s upper arm as she cleaned one of her blasters. Zeb was doing the same, after much resistance he’d agreed to learn how to use a few smaller models once they were refitted for his hands, since the bo-rifle he still carried wasn’t always easy to conceal. She was just about to slide a fitting into place when a transmission alert came in. Zeb grunted, leaning over to check the codes and then answer. A holo flickered to life, not a person, but a huge half constructed metal sphere. She listened to Princess Organa’s words as the recording showed the sphere being destroyed, taking the life of the Emperor with it. She didn’t even realize she was crying until Zeb tentatively rubbed at her cheek to dry it. With a soft sound she turned, hugging him so tightly that even he grunted in surprise.

“I love you.” She murmured against his shoulder, voice shaky, and felt one huge hand settle on her back soothingly.

“Love you too.” He rumbled, and she laughed softly through the tears of relief. For the first time it really felt like they’d made it and there would be time for everything else, a whole lifetime of everything else. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we come to the end! I hope you’ve all enjoyed this as much as I have. If you get a chance, please comment and/or kudos as I read and appreciate every single one. Thank you, everyone!


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